Middle Eastern Dance
Issue 40 November 2010
issn 14418282
nour Jamil in China Foreign Dancers Faking It Tribal Corner
raks on with
aziza
I couldn’t pack the sequins quick enough when the opportunity arose to meet International star Aziza and to do her Certified Performance Leeann Training by the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Aziza, the highly successful performer, choreographer and instructor was visiting Turkey for the first time, teaching and performing at the 2010 Dahab Holiday Dance Festival. Aziza lives the dancer’s dream travelling the world teaching and performing. She has over thirty years dance experience in ballet, lyrical jazz, modern dance, African dance and bellydance. She is the producer of Aziza Raks Production, Director of Bellydance ‘Dreamcamps’ and has won many impressive awards including 2001 Entertainer of the Year, 2002 Bellydancer of the Universe, 2003 IAMED Cabaret Dancer of the Year and Ms Belly Dance USA. With so many accomplishments under Aziza’s coin belt and an exquisite performance style, I had high expectations for her teaching and the Performance Training. Aziza did not disappoint. Aziza’s style and training program exceeded expectations. It was an invaluable and holistic learning experience addressing technique, stage presence, musicality and choreography. 16
Bellydance Oasis Issue 40
Furthermore, it also dug deep into the motivations and mindset of what it takes to be a great dancer. The training included three, three hour small-group workshops which ultimately allowed Aziza to explore every student’s possibility for development. Firstly, each student performed a solo, with Aziza critiquing technique, presentation and choreography. Secondly, Aziza created drills to improve technique after recognising the needs of every dancer. These two practical workshops were combined with heartfelt personal accounts from Aziza on how she too has strengthened her technique, stage presence and attitude to dance over the years. These discussions were inspiring and challenged us to think about our own experiences and set performance goals for the future. The training concluded with students performing their solo again. This session proved that the training was a threeday Aziza extreme make-over! It was remarkable to see the improvements in students in such a short time. Aziza got to the core of what every student needed to know and work on to become a better dancer. She used highly effective teaching techniques and concepts I had not seen or heard of before that improved each dancer’s perspective and approach to
performance. Every word of advice by Aziza was constructive, reputable, timely and achievable for improving a dancer’s style. As a result we not only gained new skills as dancers, we changed our perspective to dance with newfound confidence, knowledge and direction for how we approach performing. I also learnt so much from her about techniques for teaching too. I thought I would share a snippet of what I learnt from Aziza that changed the way I approach performance: Lesson 1: Discover your inner dancer Aziza talked in depth about the concept of the “inner dancer.” This is the “spirit” or “attributes” that are with you when you dance at your best. Think about a time when you danced at your best. This was when your inner dancer was with you. What was happening for you or the audience? What factors made it possible for the inner dancer to be there? What did you feel? What was happening on stage or off stage or even before you went on stage? When you start to identify aspects of your inner dancer you can start to see how you can nurture it and invite her on stage with you in the future. For example, when I pondered these questions, I realised that for me the inner dancer is with me when I feel
Aziza on stage at Dahab photo by Leeann Murphy
Article and photographs by Leeann Murphy
The Class of 2010 Aziza Performance Training
the emotion of the dance first, followed by choreography. I can improvise. The costume is comfy, the lighting creates a certain ambiance and I see or hear a reaction from a crowd. To achieve all this I realised I have to prepare for performances right from the very beginning – when I start to learn or create a new choreography. Now that I have identified my inner dancer I have changed the way I approach my performances. I pick music for choreography that my inner dancer comes pirouetting to and I know that the preparation is a necessary step to ensure my inner dancer is with me on stage – rather than backstage! I encourage you to contemplate your own inner dancer. Write about it and see what you discover. Lesson 2: Get theoretical Aziza shared many learnings from the books she had read. Through this, students realised that we don’t take enough time to sit still and read about dance to become better dancers and teachers. We always move - we practice, practice, practice. Reading can allow you to learn from other genres of dance or other fields of expertise. You can learn from other performers or teachers who are inaccessible to you. You can learn about tried and tested methods for 18
Bellydance Oasis Issue 40
improving technique or choreography. Aziza proved that reading and getting theoretical about dance can improve performance. For example, Aziza shared the tips for creating meaningful choreography from the legendary Doris Humphrey who authored The Art of Making Dances (1958). The book suggests you should imagine the stage be broken into parts to amplify the meaning of movements for the audience. The back of the stage should be used to portray mythical movements that require minimal connection with the crowd. The front of the stage is for reality, for movement that evokes crowd reaction or interaction. The middle of the stage and the four corners of the stage are for power moves that say, “Hello audience here I am!” Aziza then demonstrated this theory and proved Doris was right. Try this theory with your next choreography. Lesson 3: Be your compassionate witness When someone compliments you on your dancing do you simply say, “Thanks!” Or do you say, “Thanks, but I missed that turn,” and then proceed to reel off everything you did wrong? If your response to a compliment is generally the latter then you need to take on another important lesson from Aziza. You need to learn to be your
compassionate witness. Aziza interpreted the compassionate witness concept for us bellydancers which was taken from the book Coaching an Artist Within by Eric Maisel (2005). The compassionate witness concept encourages people to accept and nurture oneself to maximise personal growth and development. To be your compassionate witness means to accept compliments, to learn to appreciate your style, and to not judge yourself negatively. If you receive a compliment, you should always simply say, “Thank you!” But make sure its with a smile! No matter how disappointed you may be feeling about your performance. If you’re prone to judging yourself and pointing out what you did wrong, try being your own compassionate witness next time someone compliments you and notice the difference in feeling. Avoid the bad habit of saying, “Thank you, but….” If you’re a teacher, why not promote and nurture this concept in your lessons. Hand out the compliments, encourage the compassionate witness to come out in students and see the difference in the positivity and confidence of your students. The learnings above are a small taste of the types of things you can learn from Aziza. There are many more books she recommends and practical techniques for dancing and teaching that you can learn. To fully appreciate her teaching you’ll need to attend her training which I guarantee will exceed a 10 out of 10 rating! Aziza is yet to visit Australian shores, but with her continued success I am hoping she receives an invitation very soon. To find out more about Aziza, order her DVD or see details of her “Dreamcamps” visit www.azizashimmy.com Aziza’s Certified Performance Training will be offered again at the 2011 Dahab Holiday Dance Festival in Turkey. Shimmy your way to http:// www.taratravel.de/ to view details and drool over the line-up of impressive teachers which includes Aziza, Jillina, Sema Yildiz, Drissia Nejma, and Azad Kaan.